


Alter Ending

by AinesseyYessenia



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, romance with side of platonic relationships, that's a thing right?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2016-12-09
Packaged: 2018-08-27 18:01:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8411173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AinesseyYessenia/pseuds/AinesseyYessenia
Summary: "I took that bullet for V for six reasons..."





	1. Unknown Ending

She took that bullet for V for six reasons.

  
1: V didn’t deserve to die for a heart that only beat for the sake of loyalty. Even if he went about it all wrong, everything he did was for someone he loved. _“Someone with so much to offer can’t die yet.”_

  
2: Jumin still needed the childhood friend he always treasured. At this stage in his life, there was no one who knew or cherished him more. _“You have people who will miss you.”_

  
3: Yoosung needed closure and understanding. Bridges had been mended but they were far from completely fixed. _“You’ve got a few things to atone for.”_

  
4: Jaehee needed some peace in the chaos. She still had dreams to aspire to, and if anyone could guide them along, it would be V. _“She believes in you.”_

  
5\. Seven needed a constant in his world. Nothing else was going to be able to keep him grounded, keep him together, long enough to rediscover who he was. _“He needs to keep believing in you.”_

  
6\. And Zen, the man who had stolen her heart with a gentleness she was unaware even existed, didn’t need to feel betrayed by someone he would have given up everything for. _“They all still need you. Please…”_

  
And maybe, as she looked at Unknown staring back at her in shock, there was a seventh reason too. _“Bring him back to his brother, V. You’re the only one that can.”_

  
She had to be content with those seven reasons. She swore they were all she had left before her world went black, she thought for the very last time. If V had anything to say to her, for her sake, she couldn’t hear.


	2. Unknown Option

She never knew how close she came to never waking up again. She initially showed no signs of regaining consciousness. Medical help had come so much later than anyone wanted. During the first few days of treatment, she developed a terrible fever. It was resistant to most techniques, climbing higher and higher as the days passed. Everyone with a medical degree expected her to die. To say that the RFA was not handling that possibility well was the understatement of the year.

(She would also never know that money and connections had been the only things keeping them all from getting kicked out of the hospital. The the only things keeping support on and powered, in fact.)

The beeping of the machines attached to her became a lullaby. It was a sign that something kept her breathing even, her body steady and still, and she went in and out of states of awareness. She knew she was hurt but she wasn’t sure how bad everything was. A thought that crossed her mind, when she had the ability to think, was that dying didn’t really seem that dramatic. Not to the one who was losing strength with every passing second. Movies made it seem so much more, like every moment was a toss between good and bad outcomes. It was really just a long waiting game.

(She was waiting to see if she would die, and everyone else was waiting for the chance to let her live.)

The only thing that could match the drama of a motion picture was what awaited her when she fell deeper into unconsciousness. Or, rather, who was waiting for her when the world seemed at it’s darkest.

“Senia, so kind of you to make it.”

“…Rika?”   
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the most part I think all these chapters are going to be pretty short. Also, mc does have a name here, but mostly because I didn't like the feel of writing MC or (Y/N) throughout the story. Feel free to substitute.


	3. Unknown Continuation

She had some very mixed feelings when it came to Rika. On one hand, Senia could understand. The two of them were a lot more alike than people would originally assume. They both had an empathy inside their core that made speaking with others both a struggle and a wonder. They could both understand, and so it was very easy to find the right things to say at just the right moment because in that moment they felt what the person opposite of them did. It made it easy to like to her.

It also made it easier to despise her. Senia felt Rika’s intentions to a small degree, but she felt the collective hearts of the RFA more. All of them had suffered. And it was all because of the blonde in front of her. Except that couldn’t be the blonde Senia had become a working legacy to. That blonde had ordered the shot that pierced through her, and would not be standing in front of her in a dark abyss.

“I’m dreaming, aren’t I?”

Rika smiled.

Senia sighed. “Right.” She looked around. Was this some kind of limbo before death? “I don’t know if you’d know this, but are they okay? All of them? Even the hacker?” She hadn’t gotten a chance to remember the name Seven told her.

“They did. But you might not last much longer.”

Subconsciously, she knew that. People didn’t stand up against bullets very well, but she still felt like crying hearing it said out loud. She had made a lot of dumb decisions in her life, and while this one wasn’t smart by any means, she knew she would do it again if she had to. “I guess that’s okay.”

Rika titled her head. “Is it really?”

Senia tried to smile. In the end she shook her head, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes. “No.”

All she could think about now were the consequences of what she’d done. Her mother would scream, her father would cry, god she had two younger sisters who would be devastated. She had an older sister who she never made up with, over a grudge that didn’t matter nearly as much as she thought it did, had friends who included her in there dreams and aspirations. Suddenly all of that was gone. She didn’t regret her decision to save V’s life, but she did regret not living as much as she could before she had to make that decision.

“Are you mad at me?” Rika asked. Though, Senia really had to stop thinking of her as the real Rika. This was a figment, possibly with the attitude Senia hoped the woman had.

“I don’t hate you, but I’m pretty damn close to that extreme.” Her eyes were narrowed when she raised her head to see her predecessor eye to eye. “You used V and Jumin, abused the love they had for you. You betrayed Seven and his brother, who trusted you to take care of them. You lied to Zen and Yoosung and Jaehee, and this entire time your goal was to bring them down into this stupid cult where no one would have ever been happy--”

Her voice was starting to get higher, and she was practically in hysterics at the thought of the six of them forced into the hypothetical situation. And now the anger, kept back out of sheer politeness and desire to understood, was beginning to be unleashed. No, she didn’t hate Rika, but there wasn’t a word for what she felt towards her right now. Not in the three languages she was familiar with.

“What is wrong with you!” She screamed so loudly her voice cracked. “All you needed to do was ask for help. You had it at one point. Everyone was willing to give you anything, so you decided to take everything from them without thinking about what it would do to them? Who the hell does that!”

It was silent as Senia caught her breath, the force of her anger causing as much exhaustion as gathering the various party guests. Rika looked far too calm for her liking.

“You’ve helped everyone,” she said sweetly, which made Senia’s blood ran cold given how out of place it seemed. “Everyone except us.”

Senia was stubborn by nature, but even she had to admit this last similarity, no matter how sick it made her. She and Rika were lost causes. “I guess this princess isn’t saving herself.”

Rika, whichever one she was, looked up at where the sky normally would be. “She might not have to.”

Senia didn't know what she meant, didn't know it mattered, but she was sure of one thing. She was all too happy to see the world go dark this time, if it meant she could leave the gaze of a puzzle that might forever be distorted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have to get this out now or I'll be way too tired to later. Black Friday work days are rough.


	4. A Recent Past

_Zen’s story tugged at her heart. She couldn’t say she understood completely, because for the most part she couldn’t comprehend how people who were supposed to love a child could tear him down so harshly. It was a sad thing to hear, but it made her feel like she was the only girl in the world to get such a sincere description of his life. He was being so honest with her, simply because he wanted her to know where he came from, and she felt like she wanted to do the same. She had a feeling Zen would never ask her to, but she wanted him to know her too._

_So she took his hand when he asked, and smiled at him. She couldn’t help but think of how beautiful he looked in the starlight. “Can I tell you a little something about me?”_

_He looked startled at the question, but was quick to nod. “Of course!”_

_It took a lot. Her life wasn’t terrible, but a few sections were still very emotional to this day. “I have an older sister, one that’s nothing like your brother, but she was trouble. My mom and dad suffered a lot because of some of the things she did, and she was never there for me as an older sibling.”_

_Zen frowned, and she almost wanted to stop talking at the look in his eyes._

_Still, she continued. “She was my biggest bully. She still is today, but she made me stronger in one very important way. I’m a better big sibling to my two younger sisters, and whenever they need me, I’ll be there.”_

_Zen squeezed her hand tightly, and she squeezed back. It was so easy to just be with him. “I can’t imagine you being anything but the best big sister in the world.”_

_She laughed._

_He beamed at the sight. “I mean it. You’ve been so supportive of all of us, and we brought you into the weirdest situation in the blink of an eye. No doubt your sisters are spoiled with your attention.”_

_Her cheeks were heating up. She just knew it. “Katalina and Courtney, two and four years younger respectively, are such brats!” She chuckled at the very thought of them._ _“But they’ve got amazing hearts and I love them so much.”_

_Somehow the two of them had scooted closer to each other. She laid her head against his shoulder, and he laid his head atop hers as easily as they breathed the night air. Her heart was pounding, but she like the feeling of butterflies in her stomach._

_“You all have such interesting names.” he hummed. “I’ve never heard them before.”_

_“We’re not from here originally.” Now that she thought about it, she never mentioned that to anyone in the RFA. “My family moved around a lot so that my dad could always have stable work. We’re originally from the US, and my parents are from Central America.” She raised three fingers in the air. “I can speak three languages fluently. Spanish, English, and now Korean.”_

_"I didn’t know we had someone so talented in our midst.”_

_She giggled. “I’m nowhere near as impressive as Seven, but it came in handy a lot when I was younger.”_

_“Oh?”_

_Old dreams resurfaced, along with the present ones she still had, but those could be shared another day. She’d tell him when his ankle was better, after the second party, when everything was a bit more put in place. (When she was ready to see if her feelings could match Jaehee’s, and if she had the courage to tell him how much her heart flipped whenever she heard his voice.) They had time, she thought._

_“Yeah, I’ll tell you about it sometime.” She moved away a bit, and winked at him when she caught his eye. “It’s a promise.”_

_He surprised her by bending down to kiss her forehead. Now she knew her face was as red as a patch of tomatoes. “I’ll hold you to it.”_


	5. Plot Branches

When she opened her eyes for the first time, it was to a pair of teal eyes that were shocked to see her looking back. Her voice was hoarse when she spoke, and it was like gravel hitting pavement, but it was clear enough to get a response. “V?”

The man was so fast she almost didn’t catch his movements. He was hugging her before she had a chance to really get a look at his face, with a focus on his eyes that seemed a little clearer than the last time she saw them. “Thank goodness,” he breathed out. “Thank goodness!”

She wished she could hug him back. It was so good to hear his voice, see him living and breathing, as real as she was in that moment. She wasn’t sure why, but for a splint second before she fell unconscious, she thought she’d made a mistake. Not because she saved him, but because she didn’t think a gun could have more than one bullet. Saeran had been in a panicked state, he could have unloaded on that whole room if he wanted. Yet, her sacrifice meant something if he was still there.

Senia wanted to hug him back but she couldn’t lift her arms. She was still so tired, but there was a tug in her heart that wasn’t going to go away unless she kept talking to him. “You okay, V?”

He laughed, and it was choked and she felt like crying at the sound of it. Out of all the RFA members, he was the one she knew and bonded with the least, but he had been the one she was prepared to throw it all away for, simply because it would have hurt her heart not to try. Was this what the rest of the RFA, what Rika once upon a time, felt when they first met him?

“You’re tied up to a monitor and several IVs and you’re wondering how I am?” he asked, amused.

She nodded. In her mind, it made perfect sense.

“I’m doing great, Senia, now that you’re awake.” He pulled back, and she could see the tears at the edges of his eyes, but he was smiling. She had never seen a smile so sincere on his face. “You had us all worried.”

She frowned. “How long have I been asleep?”

V pushed back her hair. She didn’t realize it had been sticking to her forehead. She thought tears might have pooling at her own eyes at the action, because it was so familiar in a sad nostalgic way, but she couldn’t say why. V didn’t comment on the tears, just wiped them away gently and spoke gently. “A few weeks. It looked touch and go for a little while, but we had hope. You kept talking in your sleep, which meant you were still there, just resting.”

V sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to explain the situation for her sake. Senia wanted to ask about Rika, ask about what happened after she’d blacked out, but she could tell it wasn’t the time. She wasn’t sure there ever would be a time and place for the whole truth. All she could focus on now, however, was the present. “The others?”

V kept smiling. “They’re all worried, but they’re trying to be strong for when they see you.”

It was a bit embarrassing, having V look at her as though she were important enough to warrant so much emotion. The RFA had so much else they could have put their focus on, and instead the majority of it seemed to go to her. V had told her she was family, that she was as much a part of the RFA as any of them were, but it still felt weird to see evidence of it. She’d been the party planner. Did that warrant all of this?

“Did you know you talk in your sleep?”

V wasn’t invasive at all about the question, just curious, but Senia was instantly mortified. What could she have possibly said when she was unconscious with no filter? “I do?”

V furrowed his brow and uttered a couple of syllables. At first she couldn’t understand what he was trying to say, until he said it slower, and then she burst out laughing when she finally understood. “ _Hermano_?” Though it was something completely innocent to say, she wondered why she’d said it in the first place.

V smiled bashfully. How a man could butcher one word so much was a mystery, but he took corrections in good humor. “What does it mean?”

“Brother.” She reached out her hand. He looked against the idea of her moving, but he took hold of it as gently as he could. She was able to sit up with as little discomfort as she could manage. “But I wonder…” she smiled and shook her head. “I must have been trying to say _Hermana_. I don’t have a brother to call out for.”

V titled his head. After a moment, he smiled softly, and the sight of it made her want to cry again. How one expression could transfer such relief and happiness was a mystery, but she wasn’t about to question it. “I feel terrible never asking about your family, seeing as I kept you away from them for so long.”

Eleven days had turned to twenty two, one party became one long affair separated into two days of splendor, which turned into more weeks of running and recovering. Senia didn’t know what her family would say, being out of the country for an emergency and likely being due back any day. Now that she thought about it, she was probably fired since she hadn’t given any notice about her whereabouts or when she would ever be back to work. Her rent was late, her homework way passed due, and so much of her life had been put on hold. No one told her she was forbidden from leaving Rika’s apartment, and she’d gone out for small excursions during that time, but something had been telling her to stay put. Thinking about Mint Eye and its influence, staying put and isolating herself might have been the most practical thing she had done in the entire situation. Stupid, but practical.

Looking at V, she found she didn’t regret a thing. Instead, she patted a spare space beside her on the bed. “We’ve got some time, right? Let me tell you a bit about my life pre-RFA.”

**Author's Note:**

> We're going to pretend like a game hasn't taken over my current life. Yeah, let's go with that.


End file.
